Unpam Student Killed by Commuter Train in Ciputat While Filming Class Assignment

A 23-year-old student at Universitas Pamulang (Unpam) died after being struck by an electric commuter train, or KRL, in the Jombang area of Ciputat, South Tangerang, Banten, according to detikcom. The victim, identified by the initials MF, was a fifth-semester Communication Science student who was filming video for a group coursework assignment at the time, the university said.

Ciputat Timur Police chief Kompol Bambang Askar Sodiq said the accident happened on Thursday, Oct. 8, at around 6:15 p.m. local time. Witnesses told police the victim was producing content for a class assignment when the train, traveling toward Jakarta, hit him. The body was dragged roughly 200 meters from the point of impact and was found lying on the tracks.

Police arrived at the scene at about 7 p.m. to carry out a crime scene investigation and contacted the South Tangerang Police identification unit, Bambang said. Officers seized a mobile phone and a digital camera believed to have been used by the victim for the coursework content, and are questioning witnesses as part of the investigation.

Detikcom reported from the site on Sunday that the spot where the victim was first struck sits close to residents' homes, with no barrier separating the housing area from the railway tracks.

Unpam head of public relations Muhyiddin Fanda confirmed the victim was an active student in the Communication Science program and said the university was grieving. He said the campus, through the program, had been in contact with the family and was present at the funeral home. According to Muhyiddin, the assignment was an ordinary group video production task for one of the victim's courses, not a final thesis.